Older truck transmissions

[Sisco683]

Looking at buying a 2500 or 3500 with 6.7 probably in the 2012 to 2016 range.
Should I avoid all trucks that haven't had a new transmission installed?

 

[Burla]

Well, if I were to get a diesel and wanted a modern one, I think I'd save a lot of freak'n trouble and get the HO rams, 2002-2007. No DEF, NO EGR COOLER, NO DPF filter. You are worrying about the wrong item imo. Yes transmissions are the weak spot with a lot of transmissions, but new diesels have a whole lot of stuff to worry about. We had 3 HO's on my family, I had one, so smooth, such sweet machines. Probably get them for a song these days, plenty of room to fix up stuff. BTW, my brother traded his in for another HO ram = manual transmission. Thing is bullet proof.

If you buy a 2012 with all of that emissions garbage, you are asking for problems.

 

[Cummins diesel]

I would personally try to get a 2013-2018 Ram 3500 with the HO engine and Aisin transmission. They are almost indestructible unless you just put a crazy tune on them. Some people think that the aisin transmission shifts a little harsh though.

 

[nlambert182]

Looking at buying a 2500 or 3500 with 6.7 probably in the 2012 to 2016 range.
Should I avoid all trucks that haven't had a new transmission installed?

Not at all... The hype behind the 68RFE being a "bad" transmission is just that.... hype. Assuming you find one that has good miles, has been serviced regularly and hasn't been tuned, deleted, and turned up, it will be just fine. Ram took a hit years ago (primarily on the 3rd gens) for having weak auto transmissions. The 68RFE isn't perfect by any stretch but it is a far cry from bad.

The Aisin transmission is good and it does shift kind of harsh when unloaded, but it isn't without flaw either. There are some issues with their wiring harness connectors and breaking snap rings. So... you don't really save much by picking one over the other unless you seriously tow heavy all the time. I've got tens of thousands of miles under my belt towing north of 15k lbs, and hundreds of thousands of miles empty driving with a 68RFE with no problems so far. I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

 

[Burla]

The weaknesses are addressable in the rfe..

Product Overview: ATS 68RFE Valve Body and ATS Co-Pilot

Clint Cannon, President of ATS, describes the inherent weaknesses of the 68RFE (545RFE, too) valve body. This is a comprehensive overview of the numerous pro...

youtu.be